1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system provided with a printer, a computer or the like and a method for managing the network system.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a network system in which a plurality of printers are managed by a single computer. In this network system, the operational conditions and the failure situations of the respective printers are collectively managed by the single computer, and the repairs thereof are effectively performed. Moreover, when one of the printers cannot be used, the connection thereof is changed so as to substitute another printer for this one of the printers. At this time, the computer for preparing the data of image to be printed and outputted by each printer and the like may be also used to manage the network system. Or, the network system may contain the computer dedicated to prepare the data, apart from the computer for managing the network system.
Now, referring to the single printer contained in the network system, if the printer is connected to a connection line (actually, a telephone line, a so-called LAN (Local Area Network) or the like corresponds to the connection line. Hereafter, this connection line is referred to as a network) for the connections in the network system, the printer is typically connected to the network through an interface card normally referred to as an NIC (Network Interface Card). Each printer comprises one NIC, and further each NIC comprises a CPU, such as a micro computer and the like. Then, the NIC transmits various information from the computer for managing the network system to an appropriate printer, and also has a function of transmitting various data from the appropriate printer through the network to the computer for managing the network system.
In the network system, there are two types of information as the information to be managed by the computer for managing the network system. That is, for example, one information is the information with regard to the setting of the NIC itself, such as an address (an identification number) on the network of the NIC itself, and the other information is the information with regard to the setting of the printer itself, such as a number of copies in each printer to which the NIC is connected.
In the above mentioned NIC, the above mentioned two kinds of the information are stored in advance in ROMs (Read Only Memories) which are all contained in the NIC, as the readable information itself, or as the process procedure of detecting the information (for example, error information and the like) changed on the basis of a state of a device or the information which is specified by a user and stored in a memory, such an RAM (Random Access Memory) and the like. Then, the NIC in which the information are stored and the appropriate printer are connected to each other by using an interface peculiar to the printer.
However, there are many kinds of printers, based on the differences of printing mechanisms and paper feeding mechanisms. Moreover, there is a single printer having various processing mechanisms corresponding to kinds of data to be processed. For example, there are a printer having an electrophotographic process as the printing mechanism, a printer having an ink jet type, a printer having a process suited for a color print, a printer having different devices to supply a print medium based on a paper size and the number of trays for supplying print papers, a printer which can further control a discharge tray, a printer having various processing mechanisms corresponding to kinds of data to be treated (a printer description language, a format of image data and the like), a printer having different resolutions and the like. Furthermore, there is a printer which can add a function in future as an option. In order to effectively utilize the above mentioned various functions, there are a variety of set items in the printer. Accordingly, the statuses of the apparatuses, for example, the error statuses are also different.
Thus, according to the configuration of the conventional NIC, it is necessary to connect to one printer the NIC having the storage content of the ROM peculiar to the printer. Hence, it is necessary to prepare the NIC having the storage contents of the ROMs which are different from each other by the number of the kinds of the printers contained in the network system. Accordingly, this leads to an expensive cost in the configuration of the network system and further this results in a problem that the configuration becomes complex as the whole system.
These problems are not limited to the above mentioned printers. That is, they exist as the similar problems in an image reading apparatus such as an image scanner, a multiple function apparatus having both the printing mechanism and the image reading mechanism (an apparatus having the functions of the printer, the image scanner, a copier, a facsimile and the like), and other terminal devices connected to the network.
The present invention is proposed in view of the above mentioned problems. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a network system, a network managing method, an interface device and a terminal device, which can implement a simple configuration and attain a low cost in a network system including a plurality of printers, a plurality of computers or the like, and a program storage device which stores a computer program to drive the interface device.
The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a network system including: a managing device such as a manager etc., for managing a terminal device through a network; the terminal device such as a printer etc., connected to the network through an interface device; and the interface device such as a NIC etc., which is connected to the terminal device and is also connected to the managing device through the network, wherein (i) the managing device is provided with an information transmitting device such as a CPU etc., for transmitting transmission information to the network, (ii) the interface device is provided with: a judging device such as a CPU etc., for, when receiving the transmission information through the network, judging whether the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device or another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device, based on the received transmission information; a first information processing device such as a CPU etc., for processing the received transmission information and returning a first process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information, to the managing device through the network, if the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device according to a judgment result of the judging device; a transferring device such as a CPU etc., for transferring the received transmission information to the terminal device if the received transmission information is another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device according to the judgment result; and a returning device such as a transceiver etc., for returning second process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information transferred to the terminal device from the transferring device, to the managing device through the network when the second process information is transmitted thereto from the terminal device, and (iii) the terminal device is provided with a second information processing device such as a CPU etc., for processing the received transmission information and transmitting the second process information to the returning device when receiving the transmission information transferred thereto from the transferring device.
According to the network system of the present invention, the transmission information is transmitted to the network from the information transmitting device in the managing device. Then, in the interface device, when receiving the transmission information through the network, it is judged by the judging device whether the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device or another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device, based on the received transmission information. Then, if the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device, the received transmission information is processed by the first information processing device, and the first process information is returned to the managing device through the network. Alternatively, if the received transmission information is another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device, the received transmission information is transferred to the terminal device by the transferring device. Then, in the terminal device, when receiving the transmission information transferred from the transferring device, the received transmission information is processed by the second information processing device, and the second process information is transmitted to the returning device in the interface device. Then, in the interface device, when the second process information is transmitted thereto from the terminal device, the second process information is returned by the returning device to the managing device through the network.
Accordingly, since the transmission information to be processed by the interface device is certainly processed by the interface device while the transmission information to be processed by the terminal device is transmitted through the interface device to the terminal device and is then certainly processed by the terminal device, it is not necessary for the interface device to perform a process for the transmission information to be processed by the terminal device. Thus, it is possible to construct the network by connecting the interface device commonly with respective one of various kinds of terminal devices. Therefore, it is not necessary to employ various kinds of interface devices in correspondence with the various kinds of terminal devices, so that it is possible to construct the whole network system in a simplified manner with low cost.
In one aspect of the network system of the present invention, the transmission information includes identification information which corresponds to the transmission information and also indicates a hierarchy structure of a process target included in one of the interface device and the terminal device, and the judging device judges, on the basis of the identification information, whether the transmission information transmitted from the managing device is one transmission information indicative of the process target included in the terminal device or another transmission information indicative of the process target included in the interface device.
According to this aspect, on the basis of the identification information indicating the hierarchy structure, it is judged by the judging device whether the transmission information transmitted from the managing device is one transmission information indicative of the process target included in the terminal device or another transmission information indicative of the process target included in the interface device. Thus, it is possible to certainly judge the attribute of the transmission information by the judging device, so that the subsequent processes can be appropriately performed in the network system.
In this aspect of performing the judgment on the basis of the identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and the identification information may comprise route information in MIB (Management Information Base) information corresponding to the SNMP. In this case, since the managing device manages the terminal device on the basis of the SNMP while the judgment can be performed on the basis of the route information in the MIB information corresponding to the SNMP, the network system can be efficiently managed.
Alternatively, in this aspect of performing the judgment on the basis of the identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), and the identification information may comprise URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information in the HTTP. In this case, since the managing device manages the terminal device on the basis of the HTTP while the judgment can be performed on the basis of the URL information in the HTTP, it is possible to construct the widely ranged network by use of the WWW (World Wide Web) in a rather simplified manner with low cost.
In the aspect of performing the judgment on the basis of the identification information, the judging device may use sub-identification information, which is transmitted in advance thereto from the terminal device and indicates the process target included in the terminal device, to thereby judge whether the transmission information transmitted from the managing device is one transmission information indicative of the process target included in the terminal device or another transmission information indicative of the process target included in the interface device. In this case, by use of the sub-identification information, which is transmitted in advance to the interface device from the terminal device, the judgment of the judging device is performed. Thus, since the attribute of the transmission information is judged on the basis of the sub-identification information, it is possible to certainly differentiate the transmission information, so that it is possible for the managing device to easily manage the peculiar operational condition of the terminal device corresponding to the process target in the terminal device itself.
In this aspect of using the sub-identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and the sub-identification information may comprise specification information of specifying a node in MIB (Management Information Base) information corresponding to the SNMP indicating the process target included in the terminal device. In this case, since the managing device manages the terminal device on the basis of the SNMP while the judgment can be performed on the basis of the specification information of specifying the node in the MIB information corresponding to the SNMP, the network system can be efficiently managed.
Alternatively, in this aspect of using the sub-identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), and the sub-identification information may comprise URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information in the HTTP indicating the process target included in the terminal device. In this case, since the managing device manages the terminal device on the basis of the HTTP while the judgment can be performed on the basis of the URL information in the HTTP, it is possible to construct the widely ranged network by use of the WWW (World Wide Web) in a rather simplified manner with low cost.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by a method of managing the above described network system of the present invention. The method has:(i) in the managing device, an information transmitting process of transmitting transmission information to the network, (ii) in the interface device, a judging process of, when receiving the transmission information through the network, judging whether the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device or another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device, based on the received transmission information; in the interface device, a first information processing of processing the received transmission information and returning a first process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information, to the managing device through the network, if the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device according to a judgment result of the judging process; and in the interface device, a transferring process of transferring the received transmission information to the terminal device if the received transmission information is another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device according to the judgment result, (iii) in the terminal device, a second information processing process of processing the received transmission information and transmitting second process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information transferred to the terminal device from the interface device, to the interface device when receiving the transmission information transferred by the transferring process, and (iv) in the interface device, a returning process of returning the second process information to the managing device through the network when the second process information is transmitted thereto from the terminal device.
According to the network managing method of the present invention, in the same manner as the above described network system of the present invention, since the transmission information to be processed by the interface device is certainly processed by the interface device while the transmission information to be processed by the terminal device is transmitted through the interface device to the terminal device and is then certainly processed by the terminal device, it is not necessary for the interface device to perform a process for the transmission information to be processed by the terminal device. Thus, it is possible to construct the network by connecting the interface device commonly with respective one of various kinds of terminal devices, so that it is possible to construct the whole network system in a simplified manner with low cost.
In the same manner as the above described network system of the present invention, there are various aspects of the network managing method of the present invention, as described below.
Namely, in one aspect of the network managing method of the present invention, the transmission information includes identification information which corresponds to the transmission information and also indicates a hierarchy structure of a process target included in one of the interface device and the terminal device, and the judging process judges, on the basis of the identification information, whether the transmission information transmitted from the managing device is one transmission information indicative of the process target included in the terminal device or another transmission information indicative of the process target included in the interface device. Accordingly, it is possible to certainly judge the attribute of the transmission information by the judging process, so that the subsequent processes can be appropriately performed in the network system.
In this aspect of performing the judgment on the basis of the identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and the identification information may comprise route information in MIB (Management Information Base) information corresponding to the SNMP. Accordingly, the network system can be efficiently managed.
Alternatively, in this aspect of performing the judgment on the basis of the identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), and the identification information may comprise URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information in the HTTP. Accordingly, it is possible to construct the widely ranged network by use of the WWW (World Wide Web) in a rather simplified manner with low cost.
In the aspect of performing the judgment on the basis of the identification information, the judging process may use sub-identification information, which is transmitted in advance from the terminal device to the interface device and indicates the process target included in the terminal device, to thereby judge whether the transmission information transmitted from the managing device is one transmission information indicative of the process target included in the terminal device or another transmission information indicative of the process target included in the interface device. Accordingly, it is possible for the managing device to easily manage the peculiar operational condition of the terminal device corresponding to the process target in the terminal device itself.
In this aspect of using the sub-identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), and the sub-identification information may comprise specification information of specifying a node in MIB (Management Information Base) information corresponding to the SNMP indicating the process target included in the terminal device. Accordingly, the network system can be efficiently managed.
Alternatively, in this aspect of using the sub-identification information, the managing device may manage the terminal device on the basis of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), and the sub-identification information may comprise URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information in the HTTP indicating the process target included in the terminal device. Accordingly, it is possible to construct the widely ranged network by use of the WWW (World Wide Web) in a rather simplified manner with low cost.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by an interface device in a network system, the network system including: a managing device for managing a terminal device through a network; the terminal device connected to the network through the interface device; and the interface device which is connected to the terminal device and is also connected to the managing device through the network. The interface device is provided with: a judging device for, when receiving the transmission information through the network from the managing device, judging whether the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device or another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device, based on the received transmission information; a first information processing device for processing the received transmission information and returning a first process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information, to the managing device through the network, if the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device according to a judgment result of the judging device; a transferring device for transferring the received transmission information to the terminal device if the received transmission information is another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device according to the judgment result; and a returning device for returning second process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information transferred to the terminal device from the transferring device, to the managing device through the network when the second process information is transmitted thereto from the terminal device.
According to the interface device of the present invention, in the same manner as the above described network system of the present invention, since the transmission information to be processed by the interface device is certainly processed by the interface device while the transmission information to be processed by the terminal device is transmitted through the interface device to the terminal device and is then certainly processed by the terminal device, it is not necessary for the interface device to perform a process for the transmission information to be processed by the terminal device. Thus, it is possible to construct the network by connecting the interface device commonly with respective one of various kinds of terminal devices, so that it is possible to construct the whole network system in a simplified manner with low cost.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by a program storage device readable by an interface device having a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method processes for performing an interface operation of the interface device in the above described network system of the present invention. The method processes have: a judging process of, when receiving the transmission information through the network from the managing device, judging whether the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device or another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device, based on the received transmission information; a first information processing process of processing the received transmission information and returning a first process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information, to the managing device through the network, if the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface device according to a judgment result of the judging process; a transferring process of transferring the received transmission information to the terminal device if the received transmission information is another transmission information to be processed by the terminal device according to the judgment result; and a returning process of returning second process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information transferred to the terminal device by the transferring process, to the managing device through the network when the second process information is transmitted thereto from the terminal device.
According to the program storage device, such as a ROM, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a floppy disk or the like, of the present invention, the above described network managing method of the present invention can be performed or the above described interface device of the present invention can be realized as the interface device reads and executes the program of instructions.
The above object of the present invention can be also achieved by a terminal device in a network system, the network system including: a managing device such as a manager etc., for managing the terminal device through a network; and the terminal device such as a printer etc., connected to the network. The terminal device is provided with (i) a processing unit such as a CPU etc., for performing a predetermined process in the terminal device, and (ii) an interface unit such as a NIC etc., for connecting the processing unit with the network. The interface unit is provided with: a judging device for, when receiving the transmission information through the network from the managing device, judging whether the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface unit or another transmission information to be processed by the processing unit, based on the received transmission information; a first information processing device for processing the received transmission information and returning a first process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information, to the managing device through the network, if the received transmission information is one transmission information to be processed by the interface unit according to a judgment result of the judging device; a transferring device for transferring the received transmission information to the processing unit if the received transmission information is another transmission information to be processed by the processing unit according to the judgment result; and a returning device for returning second process information, which is a process result corresponding to the received transmission information transferred to the processing unit from the transferring device, to the managing device through the network when the second process information is transmitted thereto from the processing unit. The processing unit is provided with a second information processing device for processing the received transmission information and transmitting the second process information to the returning device when receiving the transmission information transferred from the transferring device.
According to the terminal device of the present invention, in the same manner as the above described network system of the present invention, since the transmission information to be processed by the interface unit is certainly processed by the interface unit while the transmission information to be processed by the processing unit is transmitted through the interface unit to the processing unit and is then certainly processed by the processing unit, it is not necessary for the interface unit to perform a process for the transmission information to be processed by the processing unit. Thus, it is possible to construct the network by connecting the interface unit commonly with respective one of various kinds of processing units, so that it is possible to construct the whole network system in a simplified manner with low cost.
The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be more clearly apparent from the following detailed description with respect to preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings briefly described below.